4 Prominent Benefits of Craft for the Disabled

A new study by the University of East Anglia and the University of Stirling clearly shows that people with autism and other learning disabilities display higher levels of creativity. Craft is the language of material and making, and it acts as the building block of creativity for the disabled.

There's more to craft than simply creative expression. Right from embroidery and jewelry-making to knitting and pottery, the designing and creating a process in these craft activities comes with a plethora of benefits, especially for those with learning disabilities.

Here are the top four benefits of craft activities for the disabled.

1. Emotional Well-Being and Inner Healing

A study carried out by the University of Glasgow in 2011 stated that arts and crafts help improve emotional well-being to an extent that more active pursuits such as sports cannot. Moreover, according to experts, crafting can help those who suffer from anxiety, depression or chronic pain.

Craft activities require a person's undivided attention and they act as great stress busters. For instance, beading projects do not require a lot of assistance or supervision, and they can help individuals with disabilities to relieve stress. The positive influence of these activities helps keep up the emotional health and well-being.

Scientific findings point out that when involved in creative projects, the human brain releases dopamine, which is a natural antidepressant. Creativity that requires concentration brings with it a non-medicinal feel-good high.

2. Self-Expression

Craft activities such as pottery, mask-making and jewelry-making can help the disabled exercise their creative muscles and engage in self-expression. These activities can give wings to their imagination, also letting them discover their likes and dislikes in the process.

Most importantly, creating paintings using acrylics and watercolors can help express repressed emotions, thereby aiding the healing process in a disabled. Also, research has shown that engagement in painting activities leads to improvement in Alzheimer's patients.

3. Growth in Mental Agility

Transforming materials into something useful and indulging in productive craft activities can help develop mental agility as several craft activities offer math and geometry challenges. In this way, these activities provide mental stimulation which keeps the brain sharp.

Research has proven that knitting and other forms of textile crafting such as sewing, weaving and crocheting have a lot in common with meditation as all of them result in a positive impact on mental health and well-being.

According to an online survey of around 3,545 knitters by Betsan Corkhill, a UK-based knitting therapist who has studied the therapeutic effects of knitting, more than half the respondents stated that knitting made them feel very happy.

The study further concludes that knitting has prominent psychological and several social benefits and helps promote a better quality life.

4. Other Important Benefits

Craft activities can be relaxing as well as therapeutic. It can help the disabled perceive the world in a better and more in-depth manner as indulging in these activities brings about changes in emotional, thought and behavioral patterns.

Activities such as painting, cutting and tracing can also help improve fine motor coordination of the disabled.

Group craft activities help the disabled develop their social skills as they tend to improve tolerance and promote better understanding.

Pottery and creating sculptures from clay helps deliver a tactile stimulus to the visually impaired, further providing an enhanced experience to them.

Craft activities help the disabled develop a sense of inventiveness as it allows them to express themselves and more importantly lets them take risks. This, further, helps mold their minds in innumerable ways to achieve personal growth.

Creative pursuits can distract their mind and soothe their soul.

Most importantly, craft can also instill positive thoughts in the disabled, enabling him/her to learn about how there's more to his/her world than his/her disability or his/her mobility scooter and Harmar Mobility Micro Scooter Lift. The accomplishment of a craft project can give him/her a huge sense of achievement and pride.

Conclusion

Indulging in craft is relaxing as well as rewarding. From aiding emotional well-being and giving voice to unexpressed emotions to helping become economically self-sufficient, craft provides a disabled with several advantages. If you are an individual with a disability and have been pondering about whiling away your free time doing something productive, partaking in craft activities may be your answer. Not only will they help hone your artistic skills but also provide you with a means to spend quality time with yourself.